Antonio sipped at his coffee as he waited for Nora. She was late. He looked at the time again and wondered if she had decided to ghost him. Of course, he could not blame her for it, but he would definitely not think of her highly if she backed out of her promise to meet him just because of that.
As he sat there, feeling out of sorts, he overheard someone from the other table complain to their partner," I never make you wait! And yet you always do that. This shows how much you value me!" Hearing this, Antonio paused mid-sip. He had never had to wait for her as well, he realized in shock. He remembered that every time they had met up, she had always been waiting for him. Even before he had fallen for Sara, Nora had been the one who had always been early.
Just when he was about to call her, he saw her approaching and his breath caught in his throat. She looked as beautiful as a flower. She was wearing a dress again. This time it was in some tones of pink and mint green, but it hugged her form in a way that was too enticing. He felt his heart clench. Since their wedding day, he had seen her a total of four times. And out of that, she had forgone her usual jeans and T-shirts for a dress three times.
Why had he ever thought that she was not classically beautiful like Sara? He'd always thought of her looks as simple. She could be pretty and cute in a girl-next-door kind of way. But seeing her now, like this...
While he was lost in thought, she sat opposite him without a word. "Hi." he spoke inanely.
Nora raised her brow at the greeting and instead spoke directly," I do not have the time for chit-chat, Antonio. Say what you want and be done."
"Why did you hire an actor to act as a priest at our wedding, Nora?" Antonio leaned forward. That was the one question that had been hammering at him repeatedly. The entire day of his wedding, he had been feeling guilty towards Nora and grateful to her because she had stepped aside for him and Sara to be together. His parents had never liked Sara, but they had adored Nora. Because the wedding had become a spectacle, they had not objected to the marriage, but her mother had made it clear that she would never accept Sara as her daughter-in-law.
Even so, he had fought with them and even assured Sara that now that they were married, she would be able to win her over. With that, they spent together a blissful night together and consummated their marriage.
But the next day, they discovered that the marriage was never legal. Sara had been distraught, but he had driven her straight to the civil affairs bureau to marry her. However, his parents had also heard the news of the fake marriage and threatened to kill themselves if he really married Sara. And now, everything was a mess.
Every day Sara was questioning him. And his parents, who had always left him to his devices since he turned fifteen, were keeping a close eye on him.
Instead of answering him, Nora instead questioned him," Since when were you cheating on me, Antonio?"
Antonio was taken aback. He wanted to insist that Nora answer him but he could already see that she would not answer him unless he answered her so he said," I did not mean to cheat on you, Nora. Everything started innocently at first... A little time after I proposed to you, Sara came to me for help. While you are weak in your studies, she is brilliant so I wondered why she would want to do that. Then she told me that she wanted to appear for the Scholastic Assessment a year in advance. She wanted to keep it a secret from you and her mother as a surprise."
"So, I started to coach her. But because she was a year behind us and had only a few months to prepare, she needed more time with learning. It is why I cut off our time during the weekends."
"I see. So, you spent an hour every day of the week coaching me and all weekends coaching her." Nora said succinctly.
"Yes. I swear I was just helping her with studies, but I don't know when my feelings for her changed. I don't want you to blame her, Nora. I was the one who pursued her. When she realized her feelings, she tried to cut off our sessions, but she needed to study and she needed me to coach her. And then when I slipped and confessed to her, she succumbed. After all, she is still young."
"Well, that is very noble of you," Nora remarked.
Missing the sarcasm in her voice, Antonio continued, "By the time the exams were done, we were both overwhelmed with guilt towards you. So we decided to break it off. I used working at my father's company as an excuse to get away from her. I hoped that the time away from her would help me rekindle my feelings for you.
And I had almost convinced myself that everything would be okay when our results came out. She stood second in the overall scores, Nora! I was first and she was second! I could not stop myself and returned early. Even then I told myself that I would simply spend time with her and then break things off. But I couldn't break up Nora. I simply couldn't."
"Really? Then why did you not tell me? I made arrangements for our wedding. I was running around, managing my studies, looking at venues and caterers with your mother, trying bridal dresses, and foregoing my time on weekends to prepare for a wedding while you were having fun with my sister! Why not tell me in time and break up with me, Antonio? Did I not deserve that much respect. Or were you so in love with Sara that you forgot that I have feelings too!"
It wasn't like that. I was conflicted about my feelings for you. You'd worked so hard to get into the same university as me. I… was touched, Nora. I tried convincing myself that I would be able to recover that love with you. But then you went away with Grandpa William's family, and seeing Sara became easier. But both of us suffered as well when you were away having fun! Even a moment of shared laughter brought pain that we would have to eventually separate so that I could marry you. I considered so many times breaking up with you, but Sara was adamant that I shouldn't break your heart. It was only on the wedding day that she broke down before the ceremony… she broke down Nora, and I knew then that I would be able to go through with it.
Nora clutched at her glass of water and wondered if she had really entered some drama. She'd always thought that those female leads in dramas who threw glasses of water at a person's face were overreacting. But now, she could happily upend an entire jug of water on Antonio's head!
And as she stared at his face, pleading for sympathy and understanding from him, she could only thank the fates, or rather Sara, for taking this selfish person away from her life. She'd definitely dodged a bullet with this one.
Pulling upon her acting skills, she gently patted his hand and thought of the pain when she had first discovered his betrayal.
Thankfully, her tears came on time, and she started, "I never went on vacation, Antonio."
I discovered your treachery that night. I was there in your house when Sara was with you! I'd planned a surprise for you only to receive a shock."
Seeing her tears and listening to the pain in her voice, Antonio was shocked. He had never considered that Nora had discovered everything.
Leaning forward, he grabbed her hand instinctively, but the next moment, his hand was pushed away, and Nora leaned forward with fire in her eyes, "I would never have married a man who would cheat on me, Antonio. I was in so much guilt because of you. You have to understand. You were in guilt not because of me! That was all you! The so-called guilt was your justification for cheating on me."
Clicking her fingers in front of his face, Nora spoke harshly, "And do you know why you did this? Because you thought I was inferior to you. You were the top scorer and Lara the second, so, of course, she could stand by your side while I only deserved your pity. Well, guess what Antonio, I do not need the pity of a man who will judge me whether I can calculate three to the power of ten! And not by my care towards him."
"Jilting me at the altar was a jerk move no matter how you try to sugarcoat it. When you did not back out of the wedding, I knew I could not marry you. But I did not want to embarrass you in front of your family and friends. And so, I hired an actor at the last moment for a fake marriage. So that later when you finally found your courage, we could simply go our separate ways."
"And that is the difference between you and me." Having said her piece, Nora let out a quiet breath and cocked her head at the man sitting there in stunned silence, "But I do regret it now. If I'd known that you would shamelessly change the bride at the last moment, I would have brought in a real priest. I ended up saving you from the viper you fell for."
Finally, Antonio reacted at hearing his beloved girl called a viper and bit out, "I can understand and accept your hate. I have heard all these accusations that you have directed my way without saying a word. I'd always known you were weak in studies, so why would I judge you for that? But your jealousy against Sara and any poison that you spew for her, I will not tolerate!"
"Fair enough. Then leave. I have nothing more to say to you. And next time you see me, you can pretend that we do not know each other." Nora calmly sipped her water, not touching the tea that he had bought for her.
But of course, she knew that Antonio would not let her have the last word, "I have been trying to understand your motives and your reason for everything, Nora, but you are being unreasonable! We both were at fault. And you can go and explain yourself to my mother! Can you not simply accept everything and move on? The university is starting, and you are going to fail your math course! I am trying to do the responsible thing here so that we can sort out everything and continue with your studies! Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"And why do you insist on making me a charity case, Antonio? I can handle my own business. If I need a manager, I can hire one. Just stay away from me."
However, Antonio was unprepared to listen. Instead of standing and leaving, he walked over to her side and leaned down, encroaching on her space as she leaned back onto the seat, "Fine if you insist on taking this route, you can fail all your classes for all I care. But you have to talk to my mother! She won't listen to me!"
"I do not have to do anything, Antonio. You handle your own mother. And get. Away. From. Me."
As Nora clutched the arms of her chair, trying not to throw the glass of water at Antonio as he tried to intimidate her, suddenly Antonio was pushed away, making him stumble backwards while a calm voice spoke, "I believe the lady asked you to stay away."
Ooohhh! Our hero has come to save the day? Woohoo...
A quiet voice: Author do not misguide the readers. I am not the ML.
Author: Quiet down! You are the hidden second male lead! Shhhh...
Uh oh. Did I just finish the suspense?
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GOT IT